We first met Alfin when he was eleven years old.  He had just lost his beloved parents and a younger sibling in the deadly tsunami of 2004.  After spending just a few minutes with him and listening to his words, we knew immediately that he had great potential.  Since then, we have supported Alfin in his education from middle school until he graduated from the prestigious Al Azhar University in Cairo.

Upon completing his degree, Alfin returned to his homeland, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. He started teaching in a prominent school and got married in 2015.  A few months ago, he was blessed with a daughter – Zennira Razani. Read on for Alfin’s reflections about being a husband and a father.

“In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.  We praise Him, The Most High, who has created humans in pairs so that they can build communities of people who worship and glorify Him. As a Muslim, I believe that my religion is in harmony with the natural disposition of being human, part of which is to find a spouse and build a family.

When I completed my undergraduate degree in 2015, after spending 4 years in Al Azhar University in Cairo, I felt it was time for me to take the next step and get married. With the intention to worship and follow in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), I married a woman who was also a student at Al Azhar whom I got to know only for a few months and we agreed to get married.  Our hope was to find tranquility through our marriage as God has described in the Quran (Chapter 30;21) 

“And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who think.”

Marriage is a way to guard one’s modesty and purity.  At the age of 23 I was still very young and I took the risk of getting married with a conviction that with effort and trust in God, He would provide sustenance for me and my wife.  A few months ago on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr we were blessed with a healthy and beautiful baby girl whom we named Zennira Razani. We pray that she becomes a wonderful human being who will contribute to society and make her parents proud.”

~ Alfin Nur

We are very proud of Alfin. Our love and prayers are with Alfin and his family as they begin the next chapter in their lives. Click here to read the first article we had done on Alfin.